Lee Soo Man: Kpop's powerful "boss" was ousted from SM by his nephew and shocking revenge

Referring to Kpop, one cannot help but remember the trio of entertainment "big guys" who almost hold the entire Korean music industry: former president of YG Entertainment - Yang Hyun Suk, president of JYP - Park Jin Young and Mr. The most powerful man in Korea - SM Entertainment empire president Lee Soo Man.

Born in 1952, Lee Soo Man is a pioneer, bringing the Hallyu wave to Asia and the world. Even powerful stars like HOT, Fly to the Sky, Shinhwa, Kangta, BoA, DBSK, SNSD, EXO, Super Junior... all have to call Lee Soo Man a "chairman", "powerful father". ", "godfather"...

As a name millions of Kpop fans know by heart, but the information about the president of the Lee family is very limited.

Reportedly, Lee Soo Man's eldest son is Korean named Lee Hyun Gyu, English name is John Hyunkyu Lee, born in 1995.

In addition to his biological son, Lee Soo Man also has a niece (SNSD member Sunny) and a nephew who is currently the CEO of SM.

In 2005, Lee Sung Soo - Lee Soo Man's grandson joined SM as an A&R (Artist Search and Management) employee and then rose through the ranks as team leader, department head.

Since 2010, Lee Soo Man has withdrawn from the CEO position, only taking on the role of Chairman of SM Entertainment. At this time, it was Lee Sung Soo who was an effective hand to support most of Lee Soo Man's work.

In 2020, SM has decided to appoint Lee Sung Soo and Tak Young Joon to take on the positions of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) respectively - becoming the people who play the most important roles in the business. make decisions for the company. Lee Soo Man's role at SM at this time was the producer and the biggest shareholder in the company.

The war is started: Lee Soo Man is removed from SM

February 3, 2023, through its video, SM Entertainment announced its business plan for 2023. Through co-CEOs Lee Sung Soo and Tak Young Joon explained the direction SM Entertainment will take in the period. 3.0 of the company.

In addition, SM Entertainment has belatedly confirmed that Lee Soo Man's contract with SM Entertainment has ended on September 2022. Accordingly, Lee Soo Man will continue to support SM Entertainment as the largest shareholder, but will not participate in production and art direction.

SM shakes hands with Kakao, limiting Lee Soo Man's power

On February 7, 2023, SM officially announced that it would sell 9.05% of shares to Kakao Talk for a total value of 172.3 million USD. In addition, through USD 83,416,515 convertible bonds, Kakao can buy an additional 1.14 million shares.

With this acquisition, Kakao will become the second largest shareholder of SM Entertainment, after Lee Soo Man, who owns 14.8% of the shares of SM. That means the gap between the two largest shareholders, Lee Soo Man and Kakao, is narrowed to less than 10%.

After this sale, it was reported that Lee Soo Man decided to sue SM for violating the business law.

There have been mixed opinions regarding this case. Some pointed out that SM Entertainment's latest actions pose a threat to Lee Soo Man, who founded the company and is the largest shareholder. Others argue that the current management is ushering in a new era for SM Entertainment and the only way to do this is without Lee Soo Man.

This incident also became a topic of turmoil not only for fans of SM artists, but also for company employees.

Lee Soo Man sells shares to HYPE - official revenge

Unable to sit still before being ousted from SM, Lee Soo Man officially responded by directly selling shares to HYPE - the management company of BTS. HYPE said it bought 14.8% of the shares owned by Lee Soo Man, which means becoming the largest shareholder of SM.

Joint statement of Lee Soo Man and Bang Si Hyuk: "We've joined hands to make SM and HYBE become the changers of world music."

HYBE Labels intends to buy up to 40% of SM Entertainment's total shares by March 1 with strong support from founder Lee Soo Man, aiming to gain significant control over SM Entertainment's operations.

CEO at SM criticizes Lee Soo Man for "hostile dealings"

After the move that shocked the public, on behalf of the company's CEOs, 2 CEOs Lee Sung Soo and Tak Young Joon released a statement in response to the previous report that HYBE had successfully acquired 14.8% of the shares. by SM Entertainment. This is considered the consistent view of 25 SM CEOs.

CEOs Lee Sung Soo and Tak Young Joon said that the previous cooperation with Kakao was to serve the completion of "SM 3.0". SM's side confirmed that this partnership does not play an important role in the so-called "management war" because Kakao does not interfere in the management of the company.

At the same time, it also confirmed that the purchase and sale transaction between Lee Soo Man and HYBE was a "hostile transaction". SM also expressed a friendly stance towards Kakao and said it would cooperate in purchasing shares of other shareholders and artists in the company to oppose the "hostile takeover".

DISPATCH enters the fight, clear "white - black" in the "bow fight" battle

A few hours after the shaking hands of Lee Soo Man and Bang Si Hyuk - the founders of HYBE, Dispatch - the leading prestigious newspaper about the entertainment world as well as the lives of the top artists of Kpop, officially announced wake up. The official article appeared on the Dispatch homepage with the dramatic title: "Bang Si Hyuk is not a white-robed knight, Lee Soo Man made a movie of escape by greed".

According to the document revealed by Dispatch, Lee Soo Man has a contract to share % for unknown reasons. Lee Soo Man will have 6% of the music revenue until 2092 and 3% of the management revenue for the company. to 2025.

In its article, Dispatch said that SM removed Lee Soo Man from the management system because "cannot stand by and watch Lee Soo Man gain illicit profits". Kakao needs SM to successfully list Kakao Entertainment and doesn't care much about business management rights. And choosing a partner like Kakao also received consensus from most SM employees.

An industry expert explained, "Lee Soo Man hastily reached out his hand. Bang Shi Hyuk took it. But it is remarkable that this contract has broken most of the bond between Lee Soo Man and Lee Soo Man. and SM. The profit that Lee Soo Man was able to get from SM is gone. That money will go to the company and the shareholders. Lee Soo Man transferred his shares and defected, that was enough to solve the problem. like all".

Thus, the previous theory of public opinion that Lee Soo Man is trying to "save" SM is completely untrue, Lee Soo Man is just leaving SM to save himself.

So học vấn của 4 "ông lớn" Kpop YG - SM - JYP - HYBE: "Cha đẻ" BLACKPINK thua xa các đối thủ Hoàng Phúc15:52:43 11/08/2022Các vị chủ tịch đều sở hữu khả năng lãnh đạo tài tình. Từ thời còn đi học, họ đã gây ấn tượng với loạt thành tích khủng. Song, chủ tịch YG khiến nhiều fan bất ngờ vì không học cao nhưng ông vẫn làm nên sự nghiệp đồ sộ